Saturday, March 20, 2010

The Product of a Black Mood

Tonight I really didn't want to bake, which is weird for me. All I wanted to do was sit down and rest my hips (the latest in a string of Joint Casualties) and curl up with a cup of tea and a certain someone.

And yet, here I am writing again. They say where there's smoke there's fire; but with me it's where there's an entry there's a recipe.

But stall on that for just a couple more minutes... If I could take some of your valuable time to describe the events leading up to my time-will-tell Cornmeal Pound Cake.

I woke up this morning way too late. 10:00 to be exact. As I stared at the ceiling, the light streamed in. Somehow my bed was the perfect temperature. It was bliss.

After my darling sister and Mom left for dance, I got up and talked to M--- for an hour or so. I miss him a lot, but there's not much point considering he doesn't get back until Thursday.

Have you ever marveled how one day someone can be completely absent in your life, then the next day you can hardly stand to be without them? That's my current point of contention, this emotional attachment thing. It's killing me! Love is this monster, it eats away your brain and your heart; your faith and your courage. It's like combining the Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow with frivolous Dorthy and replacing their lack of organs with my competent ones.

That's enough, though. Me lecturing about love is like Paris Hilton lecturing about nuclear physics. Neither of us know enough to even have an opinion, let around boring you to tears with my stories of so-called love.

Anyways, I digress. Just needed to get that out of my system.

After breakfast, mom and I headed over to Artichoke Music to try and exchange her gigantic maracas for some smaller ones. No luck there, so we went to Rhythm Traders and found just what she was looking for. I also got to jam out on their amazing drum set that made literally no sound. All of the drums and cymbals were hooked up to sensors that measured how hard you hit them then created a sound into headphones that matched the how hard you hit. It was like playing real set! Amazing.

After that we went to La Fonda Rosa, an authentic Mexican place in Northeast right off of Burnside by the Laurelhurst Theater. Although restaurant reviewing is more of Lana's thing, I recommend the Quesadillas de Pollo and the Coconut Creme Brulee. Their whole menu is delicious, though.

Finally, we went to an incredible boutique on Mississippi called Flutter. It is an incredible mix of random junk, incredible perfumes (No. 2 for me please :)) beautiful dresses, and vintage candy (remakes of course). My mom and I spent at least half an hour in there, me snapping pictures and her reading a book about Cuba.

As we headed for home, my mom called my aunt to talk about her Un-Boyfriend (See the Un-birthday Cake Part 2). It would really be incredible if my entire family of bachelors and bachelorettes had finally found someone incredible (me included).

I went to horses, but I just couldn't seem to relax. Usually horses is the thing that calms me down consistently but I was seriously wound up today.

After we went home I tried baking to relax. It worked, although I'm still a little jumpy. No caffeine needed.

Thanks for your time. Now to the cake.

Today I decided to make cornmeal poundcake. I'd had it as a kid in an Italian restaurant in Bellingham, Washington. It was the best dessert I had ever had, and is still one of my highlights. It was a slice of yellow, slightly crunchy cornmeal poundcake topped with tart raspberry sauce and sweet whipped cream. It was like bliss all in one bite. I still remember it to this day.

Cornmeal Poundcake with Raspberry Sauce and Whipped Cream

Adapted from Epicurious.com and my brain

Cornmeal Poundcake

1 c. flour

1 c. cornmeal

1 c. butter, room temperature

1 1/3 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

5 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 9x5x3 loaf pan and set aside

Spread cornmeal on a baking sheet and place in the oven. Toast for 3 minutes or until slightly colored and fragrant. Combine with flour in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar, then add the salt. Drizzle in eggs a tablespoonful at a time, beating completely after each addition. Add vanilla.

Beat in dry ingredients in three parts, beating thoroughly after each addition. Transfer batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean and the top is golden-brown.

Raspberry Sauce

1 pkg. Raspberries, frozen

1 c. water

1/2 c. Sugar, or to taste

2 tbsp. corn starch

1/4 c. water

2 tbsp. lemon juice, optional

Combine raspberries, 1 c. water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

When the raspberries break down and the sauce is liquid, combine cornstarch and 1/4 c. water and add to raspberry mixture. Cook for 5 more minutes, or until slightly thickened. Pour into bowl and refrigerate.

Whipped Cream

1 c. heavy whipping cream

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine ingredients and beat in electric mixer until it forms stiff peaks.